Coated abrasive articles



Patented Jan. 2, 1951 as am:

EXAMINER PATENT OFFICE COATED ABRASIVE ARTICLES Richard Paul Carlton, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application March 2, 1942,

Serial No. 433,028

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to abrasive articles and more particularly" to abrasive articles employing a silicate cement as a bond.

The present application is a continuation-inpart of my copending application Serial Number 261,069, now abandoned, filed March 10, 1939 for siliceous Cement Composition.

Alkali silicate cements have been found to be useful in bonding granular particles into unitary articles such as flexible sheet materials or molded articles. However, in order to be of preferred type it is necessary that the character, ingredients and properties of the siliceous composition or cement be controlled as hereinafter described.

One important use for which silicate cements of suitable character have been found to be advantageous is in bonding abrasive grits or particles, whether of the molded or of the flexible sheet type.

It is an object of this invention to provide a siliceous cement composition of novel characteristics which is especially useful in the bonding of granular material or abrasive particles, for example. A further object is to provide a siliceous cement which has a suitable working life and yet, when set or in final dried form, will have desired properties including, waterproofness, strength or resilience, substantial free dom from shrinkage, resista c to heat, density and/or freedom from tendency to crumble, making the same particularly adaptable for the bonding of abrasive particles to each other or to a suitable backing. Another object is to produce an abrasive article by use of a bonding material or siliceous cement which can be applied at ordinary atmospheric orroom temperatures and which will set to form a good bond for abrasive particles or grits. A further and salient object is to produce an abrasive article which may be described as self-sharpening. These and other objects and advantages will appear from this application taken as a whole.

The siliceous cement of this invention, in one aspect, may be viewed as being made from three primary ingredients: (1) an alkali silicate (2) a, reactant therefor which will produce a waterinsoluble-silicate, and (3) an inert ma 1 l in the nature of a binder or filler. Other types of ingredients may also be employed, where desired, and a single substance may serve both in the capacity of a reactant for the silicate and as a filler or binder. Of course, water is employed in mixing the above types of ingredients to provide a cement of desired consistency,

The alkali silicate usually employed is a sodium silicate solution.

M ra we 6 su able gaet ants for the sili- *T) cate are compounds of calcium, magnesium, zinc, etc., for example calcium fiuo os ate who has a relatively low metallic ion concentration in aqueous solution and will react with the alkali silicate to form a water-resistant product comprising calcium silicate, the reaction being sumciently slow so as to provide a reasonable long working life for the cement so as to permit work-' ing, shaping or spreading the same.

The inert material may be composed of ground quartz for example. However, various equivalents or substitutes for ground quartz will appear from the description given hereinbelow.

To better illustrate my invention, a number of examples of the elemental components of cements will be given, which may be used, for example, to bond abrasive particles to fibrous backings or for other p' rnoses. Anvone of these examples may be varied or modified, as hereinafter described, depending upon the particular propertiesdesired and all such modifications are contemplated as fully as.though set out herein as separately numbered examples.

Example 1 Parts quartz fines serve inert filler o inder.

Example 2 Parts Sodium silicate solution 22.2 Quartz fines 6.0 Clay 6.0 Zinc oxide 3.4 Water 1.

In the above example the sodium silicate S3111- tion was of the same character as is described in connection with Example 1. The quartz finesand clay serve as inert material, e. g. as a filler or binder, and the it" e a reactant to Wejhesodiumsilicater Asuitable jy nes, game is one of the type of china clay, pottery clay, etc no-..

Example 3 Parts Sodium silicate solution 14.4 Clay 3.9 Quartz fines 3.9 Zinc oxide 2.2 Water 1.0

The reactants here are similar to those of Example 2 but are present in slightly difierent proportions.

Example 4 As will be evident in view of the discussion hereinabove, the clay and quartz serve as the inert material and the apatite, CasF (P003, and zinc oxide serve as the insolubilizing reactant material for the sodium silicate.

Parts Sodium silicate solution 7.0 Clay 1.75 ,Quartz fines 1.75 'Apatlte 0.5 Zinc oxide 1.0 Water 0.5

Example 5 Parts Sodium silicate solution 15 Clay 12.5 Apatite 1.0 Zinc oxide 1.5 Water a 2;-

Here the apatite and zinc oxide serve as thereactant for the silicate to form insoluble calcium and zinc silicates. The clay serves a relatively inert material, e. g. as a binder or filler, to improve the characteristics of the siliceous cement.

The ingredients of any one of the above examples, with or without the addition of one or more additional modifying agents, may be mixed together in any suitable manner. For example, the sodium silicate solution may be placed in a mechanical mixer and then the solids, separately or in admixture with each other, may be nes, e o a coloring o e siliceous cement, or to abra ive afiicles Zsuch as so-called sandpaper) made therewith, other matgriails such is barium chromate, chromium ox;-

e, ron oxi e, .,rh'z?y euse l omcharacterize inert materials which may be used in making my siliceous cement or bonding maferial, it should ordinal}? be a pulverulent or occur in the set or hardened ceme t in a substantially unreacted state. At least a sufllcient proportion thereof should be unreacted in order icon carbide fines, alunHu'iTl' finely divided material and should that, in the case of flexible or other abrasive articles, for example, it will serve some or all the following functions; especially the first two mentioned: l

) To prevent substantial shrinkage 1 7 the silicate bond; (2) to serve as a strengthening and reinforcing agent for the siliceous cement or bonding materials; (3) to control the viscosity, plasticity or spreadability of the cement by increasing or decreasing proportions of inert material and also by fineness of the inert material; (4) to control appearance of the cement or siliceous material. as where a colored inert material is used; (5) to provide a cement which, in its set condition, is dense and thus ages better in that it restricts absorption of CO2 which, in the case of spongy bonds, has a tendency to reduce the tensile strength of the bond and to cause the bond to become somewhat crumbly; and/or (6) to render the use of the cement more economical by reducing the cost thereof per unit weight.

Herelnabove apatite, Ca5F(PO4)3. and zinc oxide have been mentioned as illustrative reactant materials for the sodium or potassium silicate, for example in combination, but even singly ii. de ired. Various other metal compounds or in olubilizing agents may be used in addition thereto or in lieu thereof. What is desired of the reactant material is that it react with the alkali at such rate as to gi e a rea onable working life to the cement and yet provide a cement which will harden within a reasonable time. depending upon factors in olved incl ding particularly the use to which the cement is to be put. and al o will form an insoluble or waterproof product with the alkali silicate. Other materials, in addition to t ose above mentioned. which mav be used include calcium in carbonate or fluoride form, magnesium ox e. or other com ounds which in satura e so n 1011 have a comparable metallic ion concentration. including certain compounds of most any of the metals other than the alkali metal such as com ounds of cop er, barium, etc.. althou h. other thing e ng eoua om para le. the less costly reactants, are, of course, preferred.

While calcium in the carbonate or fluoride forms may as a ove indicated. he u ed as a reactant for the alkali silicate in mv cement, calcium oxide and calcium hyd oxide (unless its ionization and solubilitv are other i e varied or decreased) are not sati factory. The e materials are too solu le. In parts o cold water t ey w ll di ol e to the extent of 0.191 and 0.17 parts, re oecti elv. (At thi con entr tion the di solved material mav be con ider d to he 100% ionized.) Wh e thi o litv of onlv a fraction of one part of Goo or 01013 per i part of cold water may seem onite low. it is still a h her solubility than I de ire for rea tant material em loyed. The following will indicate the solubility of some suitable reactant material:

Parts On the assumption of complete ionization,

other metal compounds having comparable solubility and which will form insoluble or sub stantiallv insoluble silicates may be u ed as in olubilizing agents for the alkali silicate-.-

However, where ionization of dis olved react ant material is reduced substantially, as to onehfllf, one-quarter or less of its normal ioniza 7 peraim'es zas high -aS-about i 160:C. maybe used with most"backings and temperatures of 200" 1C. 'iorrhigherfmayibe safely used witha number ot Jba'cking materials, especially pretreated back- .ings, a'safet and satisfactory operationis had by motgoin :above:-about:1'50 'C. or, more prefer- .abiy; nsin'gitemperature'oi' the order of @120 -C., Sslightlymore' or-slightly'iess, for this purpose.

Following the application Of ='a s iliceou ,grit- .bongingcoaua sandsizing or grit-sizirTgb'oat may Se -applied. T-ThTsTmay be Tsilifgdiisrggtgiahot klelmtureanijhatlusedes-a grit-bondingfififi? \thouglr a=siliceous mix-where usedTisusually em- :ployed ini 'a'more-fluid state or it may comprise a 'vinyl rresin, ann-oil=-varmsh resin, a rubbery resin, a lphenol-aldehyde .resin-or other heat- :hardenableresins. Materials of the lattert'ype have the 'ViItUe'IOf both serving the usualiunction .of :ia f sandsizing 'coat and also the function .of a preservative for 'the silicate bond, :for exsample by shielding the silicate bon'd from the :carbondioxide or :other "gases. The sandsizing ingredients may be applied by use of solvents amid/or. heat oro-ther means.

Others-have'experienced difiiculties in using 925 warious -reactants :such as some of those herein mustnated,'e.;-g.-'zinc oxide, inmaking siliceous .c'ements aised-to bondabrasive particlespbut it appears thatsuch difficulties arose from improper use ofwsnch:reactants rather-than from the re- ,nctants 'themselves. For example, others have .apparentlyencountered blistering or cracking of -thef-silicate-bond,-but-such difficulties are avoidedbyus'ing and curingsuch cements as hereinabove set out.

Inrgeneral a moreiviscous cement or adhesive will be used-or desired where large sized grits -or abrasiveparti'clesnre employed'than where "smailergrits are employed.

J-In addition to using the siliceous adhesive or -cement,*as herein'described and of character as above exemplified or preferably modified as herein-fotherwise described, "as a'grit-bonding coat,

it may also be used as a sandsizing or grit-sizing -coat,"wh-ich'may be applied over surfaces of'the .grits or layer or abrasive particles after the siliceous bonding material or grit-bonding coat mas set completely or to substantial extent. IHWEVBI, the sandsizing coat as employed is --usually more-fluid than the-siliceous grit-bondiingcoat and should employ inert material of small particlesize, e. 'gAsuch as to pass, for ex- :ample eshscreen, or --the grit may'beof still smaller size, depending "upon the-size-oi granular-material or abrasive .particles; as the case'may be, among other things, the inert material being desirablysubstantially :smaller than the abrasive igrit.

The particle size of the inert material or-flller in the siliceous bonding material or cement is -limited in the making of-sheet abrasive articles by the si z e oathe gljgandfils hfilllibe controll'ekTinaEEordance with-the viscosity of the cggant if anabrasiveas'usefw'fiiefwllljfist 9.53 a- 24 mesh screen, theinert material-orfiller m i'l iifi gf ifiilsuchls zeasndpassan rrthe inert menswea .still mass ge" Theprefeired procedure is ac- .tifa'llyip-employ a :glfgglgj igngilfiiggs gflgggt :material which, lntfiis particul ar casLmieht, for"example,'beaiiiixture of 80 mesh, 150 mesh and '240 "mesh ilinertmateriall 'lf the abrasive sgritnsed is of suchsiitli'atit will just passan SQ-mesh screen, then I the inert 1 material should, Jar example, pass a-200.me'sh-screen or a 240 mesh screen,ior be still smaller,:or:may pri'erablyzin clude -argradation of grit sizes chosen-fromvany of the following: 200 mesh downthrough w, 280, 320, 360 and 400 mesh to and'including-mn impalpable powder. For 'agiven i'proportion'of inert material or filler, the finer the inert material, the higher the viscosity or the -less -the pliability of' the resulting cement. However, the viscosity of the siliceous cement is influenced-by other-factors, including the relative proportions of-inert material to other ingredients-thecharactor and proportions ofreactant materialand the character and strength of'the alkali silicate solution. The grain size ofthe filler -is, accordingly, preferably so regulated-that, on standing, the cement will remain uniform and the filler will .not settleout. -To accomplish this result, theless viscous-the cement, the-finerthe filler I employ in order to insure that'it will'remain uniformly in suspension.

Whilea suitable compositionofsalkali silicates has beenillustrated hereinabove, where 5 mm silicate-is employed-the soda'to silica molecular .ratio is apreferably .Within the range of 1;1.5 to 1:3.5, or -of that order, and .ordinarily will comewithin the range of -1:2 to about 1:3.3.

While hereinaboveI have-describedmy cement, in the making of abrasive -articles, for use as a grit-bonding coat and/orior use as agritesizing coat, it-may alsobe used -as-a preSize-or backsize coat and-anydesirednumber for layersorcoatings may be employed, with or without curing between the applicationof the-several-layers. Where, for example,.a vulcanizedvfibrous-baoking is used, it is ordinarily given a primingrooat of a dilute siliceous cementonother material, erg. sodium hydroxide, vinyl polymers or.copolymers such as polyvinyl a1coho1,-etc., to improve the-bonding of the makingcoat-or grit-bonding coat to the backing.

. In the use of my cements in making flexible sheet abrasive articles, for exampla-itis desirable to control the ingredients so that the-cement-will have a working life .of at least aboutfour hours. .As above indicated-the working life of'the cement may becontrolled by -various methods-erg. by selecting a reactant for the alkali silicate .ot-sufliciently low solubility or metallic ion concentration so that thedouble decomposition reaction with the .sodium silicate will not proceed 'too rapidly.

Where the abrasive art cle is not to be usedfor a long time, it is often advantageous to shield'the siuicate bond from Cos-or other-gases of the atmosphere by coatingthe same with a very-thin coating of wax, rubber, etc., whichmay'for example, be deposited thereon from asuitable-vehicle.

A very important advantage-of abrasive articles made with silceous cements of the particular .type herein-illustratedis-that suchzabr-asive articles, for example-in sheet form, have the normal advantage over glued-bond-sheet abrasives that the bond wilbnot soften under the-heat gener- :ated during use and furtherhave the-unusual and surprising advantage over many resin-bond sheet abrasives, and also over-abrasive articles havingcertain types of siliceous bonds, in that, when particular abrasive particles become dull -and,'for that reason, become-heated toa higher temperature than other grains or particles, the excess heat developed bysuch dull particles seems to cause the silicate cement'to powder around'the -socket holdingeach of such dullgranules: orparticlesand the respective dull granules-am. concebsREFEee-eti sequence, fall out, thus causing the abrasive article as a whole to remain sharp and capable of cutting well. This reasoning is largely hypothetical but, whatever the correct theory, sheet abrasive articles made with silicate cements such as I have illustrated remain sharp for long periods of time, whereas abrasive articles made with certain different siliceous cements, with which I am familiar in a general way, do not have this characteristic and become dull relatively soon. This property of my siliceous cements is especially useful in sanding on flat operations and/or where an unusual amount of heat is developed, my siliceous cements being used in making abrasive articles of any suitable form or shape.

While I have herein described my invention in various details by use of examples and have illustrated specific uses thereof, it will be understood that this is by way af exemplification and not by way of limitation. All embodiments within the scope of the appended claims are contemplated.

What I claim is:

A flexible abrasive article comprising a flexible backing material and abrasive grains adhesively secured thereto by means of a base adhesive com- 10 prising a mixture of a soluble silicate and a resin, said adhesive layer being protected from the atmosphere by a resin size coating.

RICHARD PAUL CARLTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 125,390 Henshaw Apr. 9, 1872 224,078 Copeland Feb. 3, 1880 225,658 Stevens Mar. 16, 1880 230,202 Sibley July 20, 1880 1,030,114 Neil June 18, 1912 1,373,412 Craver- Apr. 4, 1921 1,468,960 Crupi Sept. 25, 1923 1,555,119 Johanson et a1. Sept. 29, 1925 1,615,271 Hartmann Jan. 25, 1927 1,775,631 Carlton Sept. 16, 1930 1,777,162 Biddle Sept. 30, 1930 1,814,768 Rippey et a1 July 14, 1931 2,089,426 Richmond Aug. 10, 1937 2,101,050 Hosking Dec. 7, 1937 2,114,166 de Leeuw Apr. 12, 1938 EXAMINER 

